Me, Chloe, and everyone in between
by Vanishing Trooper
Summary: "I will never be as good as any of them, but this body can still make swords!" [Chloe von Einzbern SI]
1. Step 1

**AN:** Continuing my unbelievable propensity of writing for niches, I bring you this silliness. Full credit goes to user Toruushin from Spacebattles for coming up with the idea because of his Round Robin story. I didn't agree with the direction that was going as a whole, but the idea of FGO Servants being sent to DxD while their authors being SI'd into them seemed like a pretty interesting thing.

Dunno what I will do with this, probably something I will be nibbling on whenever I can.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes to the sight of an oddly colored sky.

That was weird, I was pretty sure I was at home playing Ace Combat Seven.

I tried to sit up but something felt wrong. My body felt wrong.

"What the hell is-"

I take a deep breath.

"What the-"

Yep. Still sound like Satou Chiwa. In Japanese.

I take another deep breath and look down at my body.

Tanned skin. Light-Rose colored bangs coming into view as I looked down. Black chest armor that was practically a bikini top with matching short-shorts. Covered by a tattered red jacket and skirt. Red markings on my belly reminiscent of Command Seals.

No.  
No.  
No.  
No.  
No.  
Nononononononononono

"Nooooooooooooooo..." I whispered out loud.

I slowly stood, stumbling for a moment as I got used to my new...body.

Fuck.

Why was this happening to me?!

Was this a dream?!

This had to be a dream!

I couldn't even think of any possible-

I heard a an excited gasp behind me.

"Oh? This style! This presence! Are you a Magical Girl too?!"

My whole being suddenly said to RUN! Run as far away as I could. But I was too scared. And there was one thing I did whenever I was scared.

I attack.

Movement too fast to comprehend. Motions I never should be able to know. The thrum of power that shouldn't exist.

I appeared behind the one who spoke and swung down the two swords that were suddenly in my hands.

The last thing I saw before I blacked out again were a big smile, black pigtails, and pink eyes.

* * *

I opened my eyes to the feeling of a breeze on my face and the sight of an orange sky.

I quietly hoped that it wasn't going to be a pattern.

Upon sitting up, I realized that I was back in my real body. I was even wearing the clothes I had back home. I patted myself down to make sure that I wasn't a little girl anymore and was relieved that I really was me again. Only then did I start looking at my surroundings.

A seemingly endless field of grass as far as the eye can see, dotted by an equally endless number of planted swords. I immediately understood where I was.

Unlimited Blade Works

Six-over-Ten

Too much grass - IGN

Approaching one of the swords, what seemed like a straight sword, I gripped the handle and pulled. It came out of the ground without resistance and I blinked at how light it was. It was almost as if-

"It's hollow." I dropped the sword in surprise and watched it disappear into motes of blue light. I turned to the familiar voice and saw Chloe von Einzbern a short distance away, wearing her Servant outfit.

"They all are..." She trailed off as she brushed a hand on the pommel of a curved sword.

"You really are Chloe." I stated in awe. Seeing her as I would any other person, and not as a drawing of any sort, took me for a bit of a loop. She gave me a smile and approached.

"And you're...Ric. Right?" The surprise in my face more or less confirmed her suspicion. She nodded to herself and looked out to the distance, my own eyes following and saw what looked like the sunrise.

"So, do you know what's going on? I mean, I was just at home one second-" I started.

"-and the next you became me." And she finished, once again surprising me. She giggled for a bit before sighing and shaking her head.

"I don't really know. It looks like something went ahead and fused your soul with mine and gave you the driver's seat of my body." Chloe said while making vague gestures with her hands.

"When you say that out loud..." I started and saw her roll her eyes.

"I know right?" She gladly agreed on how absurd it all sounded. We lapsed into a bout of silence and I looked around the field.

"So what is this place?" I asked, touching the handle of a katana. I knew it was Unlimited Blade Works, but it wasn't like any version of the Reality Marble I had seen. That and I was rather certain that Chloe shouldn't even be able to manifest it.

"I'm not really sure myself. I'm getting the feeling that I should know where we are but..." She trailed off helplessly.

We weren't getting anywhere with this.

"Okay, let's start from the beginning. One last time."

We ended up talking about ourselves to each other, mainly general information and circumstances before we found ourselves inexplicably fused together. She expressed great surprise that I was from Twenty-Nineteen, she herself coming from Two-Thousand Nine. That made all sorts of wacky timeline inconsistencies with how I remembered the Grail Wars being dated but that wasn't really a big issue. Chloe had apparently just gotten back home with her sister Illya after some big adventure they had saving another friend from some bad guys called the Ainsworths.

Neat. Glad to know Miyu was okay.

I had initially felt ashamed at telling her about my comparatively mundane life but she completely threw my expectations right out the window by being rather interested on how the world was in ten years.

We continued talking.

She gave me condolences when I told her about the passing of my mom and younger brother while I gave her congratulations when she told me how she ran up a giant sword to defeat the King of Heroes. She told me about what she knew of the world of magic. I told her about what I knew of the world of the future.

"But what is so special about a big rat dragging a slice of pizza down the stairs?" Memes seemed to be beyond her comprehension.

I wasn't really sure how long we spent there just talking. We even ended up sitting down on the grass in across each other and using a pair of swords as back rests.

"I blacked out again and found myself here." I summed up the last moments of waking up as her and attacking some scary person.

"Wait, if you're in here. And here being, I guess, our soul? Did you see everything happening but just couldn't control your body?" I asked, remembering that one Black Mirror episode.

"Sort of? I know that you became me and got knocked out by someone but it wasn't like watching your actions from a TV screen, you know? I can't really describe it well." So much for that.

"Where do we go from here then? I'm probably going to wake up and still be you." I pointed out.

"I guess I'll be along for the ride. You'll probably end up here if you lose consciousness again." Chloe said with a seemingly uncaring shrug.

"What about you? Are you okay with what-am I even saying, of course your not okay." I said, pinching the bridge of my nose at how stupid my question was. Chloe gave me a laugh and a wink.

"I'll be fine, I'm a pretty tough girl you know?" She said that but I saw how her hands grip the grass tighter. I leaned over and did the only thing I could think of.

I patted her head.

"I know. But that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to be sad or upset." I pointed out. She stubbornly stayed silent but didn't pull away.

"It's okay Chloe. It's only me." I assured her.

"I want to go home." She muttered, looking down at the grass.

"I know."

"I want Sella to wake me up and tell me that breakfast is ready."

"I know."

"I want to go to school with Illya, Miyu and all of our friends."

"I know."

"I want..." Her words were cut out by a sob. I moved forward and gathered her up in a hug, feeling her arms wrap around me and her face in my chest.

"Let it out, it's okay." I said as I gently stroked her head. She went on for a bit longer before she finally pulled away, but not so far as to break our impromptu hug.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd wonder if you had just used my delicate maidenly feelings to your advantage and embrace me." She lightly teased. I smiled at her and used both my hands to mess up her hair.

"Ack! Stop that!" I didn't.

"If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you actually had maidenly feelings to take advantage of!" She started laughing after that and I finally let up.

"Dummy." Chloe said with a big smile.

* * *

I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling.

I quietly hoped that it wasn't going to be a pattern.

I glanced around and found that I was in some really expensive looking bedroom.

"Finally awake, I see!" I turned to the voice to my left and blinked.

"Good morning to you fellow protector of Love and Justice!" The woman enthusiastically greeted me. I looked her up and down and only had one thing on my mind.

"Aren't you too old to be dressed up as a Magical Girl?"

* * *

I opened my eyes to the feeling of a breeze on my face and the sight of an orange sky.

Yep. This was going to be a pattern.

I ignored Chloe's howling laughter nearby.


	2. Step 2

**AN**: I am honestly floored by the reception to this story. I was certain that this would just be passed over by most people.

* * *

I opened my eyes to a somewhat familiar cei-

"Well? Do you have anything to say?" I turned to see the grown up Magical Girl pouting at me, her arms crossed under her large breasts.

I did, but she might have ended up hitting me again.

"Did you have to hit me that hard?" I groused out instead. I did note that I didn't remember how she hit me or where since there wasn't any more pain. I saw her face go from surprised to incensed within a breath.

"You called me old!" She yelled out.

The rational part of me prompted to act like a mature adult.

"You knocked me out! Twice!" I clearly didn't listen to it.

"You attacked me the first time!" She countered.

"You surprised me!" I threw up both my hands in exasperation.

"You-okay, this isn't working. Let's just take a deep breath and start over." She surprised me by taking the high road that I really should have done earlier instead.

So why did I provoke her? It didn't seem like something I'd do.

I looked down at my hands.

Was it something Chloe would have done?

"Okay! Fresh start!" She declared with smile and a clap of her hands.

"Greetings fellow protector of Love and Justice!" She greeted me once again.

"I apologize for knocking you out like that last night but you did suddenly attack me with your Magical Girl weapons, so I had to defend myself." She explained, actually looking regretful for what happened. I felt fine so I didn't really have a reason to be mad at her anymore.

"Umm..sure. You just suddenly showed up behind me and scared me, sorry about that." I gave my own apology while scratching my cheek. I saw her smile at that before she suddenly stood up.

"Apology accepted! Now with that out of the way, I would like to formally introduce myself!" She excitedly said, pulling out an honest to goodness pink Magical Girl Wand that had a yellow star at the end.

Holy shit! The whole room suddenly became bright pink! What is with those sparkles?! Why is she spinning?! Where is that music coming from?!

"Sparkle Shine! Your Command is Mine! I am Miracle Levia-tan~" She twirled her wand, did one more spin, and settled on a cute pose and a wink.

"How did you do all that?" I just had to ask. All those effects just came out of literally nowhere and disappeared just as fast.

"Magic, silly!" Of course she would answer with that. Levia-tan then looked at me expectantly with poorly restrained glee.

Oh right...my introduction.

"Well, I'm pretty new to this whole thing. I don't really have a routine down yet." This is technically true. It also seemed to be something Levia-tan wanted to hear with how her eyes literally started sparkling. With speed and strength that far exceeded my own, she grabbed both my hands and leaned in close.

"A newbie! Well don't you worry! I'll take you under my wing and teach you everything you need to know about being a proper Magical Girl!" The unbridled joy in her face was something I couldn't really say no to.

"Thank...you?" So I didn't. She let out a gasp and did a small happy dance in front of me.

"You are very welcome! Oh! I have so many ideas already! Wait! What Magical Girl power do you have? Aside from those swords, I mean." I blinked at her words and shrugged my shoulders.

"That's actually mostly it. I can make swords. I can make a bow and arrows too, but swords are my main deal." When I thought about it, I wasn't even sure how to use Projection. The last time was a panic reaction. Something to ask Chloe about later.

"Oooohhh! Is it some sort of Sacred Gear like Rias' Knight?" I suddenly froze when I heard those words from Levia-tan.

Sacred Gear?

Rias? As in Rias Gremory?

I licked my lips as my heart rate started to go faster, trying not to sweat loudly.

"Umm...what is your real name? I'm Chloe. Chloe von Einzbern." I baited. I had to know. I had to.

"Oh! That should be Top Secret! Though since you'll be my protege, I guess it's fine. My name is Serafall. Formerly Sitri, currently Leviathan." I was in High School DxD. I was not in an alternate Nasu-verse. Is that...good? I couldn't really tell from where I was.

"When you say Leviathan..." I trailed off when my stomach suddenly started growling. Really? That cliche?! I didn't even feel hungry!

"Oh! That is a discussion that can wait until you eat something first! Be right back!" And she was gone in a flash of pink.

I was in a Light Novel world.

I was in a Harem Light Novel world.

I was in a Harem Light Novel world as a GIRL.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuck…."

* * *

I sat there in silence at the dining table as Serafall gave a rather comprehensive explanation as to who she was, what her actual job is, where I was, and the general state of things as I ate. She even went so far as dropping her Magical Girl shtick and spoke like someone befitting her rank and power. Too bad she was still wearing her costume as she did so.

What I was told was pretty much what I already knew in general terms. I wasn't really someone who followed the story or lore of High School DxD. I mostly got my information about the setting and characters from osmosis and crossover fanfiction.

There was a really big war between Heaven, Hell, and the Grigori that accomplished nothing except kill countless Angels, Devils and Fallen Angels. The previous Four Great Satans also died in that war. She didn't mention it, but I already knew that the Biblical God also died in the conflict.

Due to the horrible loss of life on all sides and a change in management for Devils, an unofficial non-aggression pact was in place while each faction recovered.

"So what you are saying is that you are actually a bad guy." I started, putting my eating utensils down. Serafall actually brought me food in bed. I wasn't really sure if it was because of her being a good host or because she didn't want me trying to leave.

"What?! No!" Well, she definitely looked surprised. I glanced down at my empty plate and frowned.

"Should I be worried about what I just ate?" I asked more to myself.

"Why would you think that I would do something to your food?!" Wow, she actually sounded offended by my accusation.

"You literally just said that you are a Devil. Not just any Devil, but one of the ruling powers of Hell. A Satan." I explained and she just looked like I just said something really stupid.

"Okay, One, that is racist and a stereotype that only certain surviving ancient Devils still identify by." I blinked. Did she just call me racist?

"Two, it's Underworld and not Hell. Hell is just another part of the Underworld and even that has a lot of other parts too." I drank from the glass of water that was also provided to me as she spoke.

"Sounds complicated." I commented as I put the glass down on the tray on my lap. Serafall actually got up from her seat, took the tray, and placed it on a nearby table without prompting. It was so weird being cared for by a Devil, a Satan, who was dressed up as a hot grown up Magical Girl.

"It is. You would not believe how hard it is to legally zone everything. It's a good thing that lawyers usually end up going to Hell." Ah yes, she started talking in the tone of voice that only those who have long suffered through bureaucracy can do.

Wait a minute...

"Okay, now who is leaning on stereotypes?" I asked with a raised brow. Really? Lawyers go to hell?

Serafall just shrugged and sat back down.

"I'll stop as soon as it stops being true." We lapsed into silence for a few moments afterwards. She was probably giving me time to digest all the information that was just dumped on me.

"You know, you're not what I expected when I think of the word "Satan" or "Leviathan"." I finally spoke out. Serafall blinked at me before giggling.

"Is it the Magical Girl outfit?" I made a so-so gesture with my right hand at her question.

"Not just, but definitely a contributor. What's the story with that anyway? Why is one of the most powerful Devils dressing up as a Magical Girl?" I asked and saw her suddenly give me a smirk.

"I think I've shared more than enough about me for now. It's your turn now." Shit! I was so distracted that I hadn't even come up with a good cover story yet. She seemed to have sensed something with the say her eyes suddenly took on a strange shine.

"Oh, and don't even think about trying to lie to a Great Satan. I'll know." She added in a lower tone of voice. Right. Don't lie to one of the rulers of hell.

Well, if I have to tell the truth anyway.

"I think I'm from another dimension." I slowly admitted. To my surprise, Serafall just nodded.

"Oh? Do you still remember how you got here?" She asked. What?!

"Wait, you believe me?" Because that was way too easy.

"Honestly, I'm not even surprised. The way you used magic didn't seem like it is how humans are supposed to use it. It was actually a lot closer to how a member of the three factions would." She explained. Huh. From what I recalled, human magicians in DxD used math to perform magic. So Projection doesn't require that?

"You are taking this surprisingly well." I settled on instead.

"And you are stalling. How did you get here?" She shot back. Dammit. Truth again!

"I don't know." She stared at me intently, her eyes giving off a strange pink glow.

"You're not lying." I dumbly nodded and she gestured me to continue.

"I was at home one minute, then I woke up at the spot where you first found me." Serafall actually frowned at my words.

"Right on time for me to come across you on one of my walks." She muttered to herself. That seemed concerning.

"Did you figure something out?" I asked. She had a pinched expression on her face and shook her head.

"Not really...but someone or something definitely wanted me to be the one to find you. Do you know what this means?" She asked me. I just shrugged in response. After a moment of silence, she stood up and pointed right at my face.

"It means that an event has happened that has allowed an interdimensional meeting between Magical Girls! Oooooh! We might need to find and defeat a great evil together!" What?

"Aren't you technically a Great Evil?" I pointed out.

"Quiet newbie!" She dismissed my point with her hands on her hips.

"I'm just saying..." I trailed off. She just rolled her eyes at me before leaning closer.

"And I'm saying that we team up and kick butt!" She declared with great enthusiasm. It was actually starting to get kind of infectious.

"You are really into this huh?" I asked with a lopsided grin. She pulled back and scoffed at my words.

"Why are you so against this anyway? I'm offering to take you under my wing!" She shot back. I just looked at her incredulously before responding.

"You're a Devil!" Serafall didn't look impressed.

"And you're technically an Outer Being." She...had a point.

"Unless the reason for your reluctance is because you're one of those 'New Age' Magical Girls." She suddenly said with narrowed eyes.

"What?"

"You know, those new types of Magical Girls. The ones who are motivated by some dark tragedy instead of being happy to help others. Utter garbage." She explained.

"Wow, you sound really offended by that." Serafall snorted at my words before flipping one of her ponytails back.

"I don't need grief to push me to do the right thing. Leave that to American Superheroes!" Savage. But true.

Still, that comment...

"Wait. What year is it?" I asked. She blinked at the subject change.

"Twenty-Twelve, why?"

Twenty-Twelve? What kind of time travel shenanigans even is this?!

Well that explained her 'New Age Magical Girl' comment. Madoka Magica, or an equivalent, must have already aired in Japan by then.

"Just checking." I said instead.

"Well, what's your plan then? I doubt you have anywhere else to go." Serafall circled back to the heart of the matter.

"And a Devil is offering me a place in her home." I muttered.

"Don't make it sound so nefarious. You can leave if you want." I seemed to have gotten to the limit of her patience. It wasn't like I had any other choice. At least, I didn't have any better ones.

"I think I'll stay." I finally said, banking on the hope that Serafall Leviathan was not a bad person.

"Good! Now get some proper sleep this time and we'll talk more about this tomorrow." I blinked at her words and noticed the clock on the wall above the door. Eleven O'Clock. In the evening?! What the hell was my sense of time?

Serafall bid me a Good Night and took the tray with her as she left. I decided to settle in and lost consciousness as soon as my head hit the pillow.

* * *

I looked at Chloe's dead-eyed stare and sighed.

"We might have a problem." I belatedly stated and watched her fall back onto the grass as everything caught up to her.

To quote one Kizuna Ai:

This...has turned into a difficult situation.


	3. Step 3

I watched Chloe have a small panic attack, with her pacing around Unli-Prairie Blade Works while muttering to herself.

"We're stuck as a guest of a Devil in another dimension. How does that make any sort of sense? I just came back from an interdimensional adventure, why do I have to deal with this again?" She then glanced at me and frowned.

"Aren't you going to tell me to calm down?" She asked. I blinked at her and shrugged.

"Would you?" I asked back.

"Absolutely not." I gave her a 'there you go' gesture with my hands and saw her whimper and clutch her head in her hands.

"Okay." I whispered to myself. Time to act like the responsible adult I pretend to be. I approached her and took a knee.

"Chloe, sweetie. Look at me." I softly said, taking both of her hands in mine. She did and looked like a scared girl her age, none of the bravado and teasing confidence she was infamous for. Just a girl who wanted to go home.

"It's going to be okay. We're going to be okay." I said, giving her hands a soft squeeze.

"How do you know that?" She asked accusingly but did not pull away.

"I don't. But right now, we can at least trust Serafall to keep us safe." I assured her. I at least knew that the Leviathan didn't have any beef with humans considering her and her sister's respective covers.

"She's a Devil!" Chloe helpfully pointed out.

"And if she wanted our immortal souls to suffer for all eternity, she should have already started on that. I think we can trust her." Chloe blinked at my rebuttal and visibly seemed to calm down.

"How can you sound so sure about it?" She asked.

"I got a feeling..." I trailed off. I saw her give a small smile at that.

"...that tonight's gonna be a good night?" What?

"Mama really likes the Black Eyed Peas." Huh. I could actually see Irisviel getting into that kind of music.

"You gonna be okay?" She gave a hesitant nod and smiled.

"I'll manage. At least I'm not alone." She said, squeezing my hands before pulling away.

"Hopefully they don't take too long to find us." She added after taking a deep breath.

"They?" She couldn't possibly mean...

"Illya and the others." She did.

"Remember when I told you about us saving Miyu?" I nodded. I knew all about Miyu's backstory, both from Chloe as well as the Manga and Movie from my own world.

"Well, she was originally from another dimension. We managed to get to hers and back because Rin and Luvia are students of some big shot Sorcerer who can travel between dimensions." Yep. That's some Anime-ass Anime talk right there. Said with a straight face because it was true.

"So you think that they'll be able to get here?" I asked with a little bit more hope.

"Absolutely. All we need to do is sit tight until they find us." Chloe declared, probably confident that Illya and Miyu would do everything to get her back home. There was just one snag.

"And what about our condition?" I asked, gesturing between us.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. We'll figure something out." She just said with nonchalance.

"That's certainly a turnaround from a few moments earlier." I pointed out. Chloe blushed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I was panicking okay!" She yelled out, not looking in my direction.

"Thanks for calming me down." She added in a much quieter voice, though the silence of the surroundings made sure I was still able to hear it.

"You're welcome Chloe." I stood back up and decided to shift gears.

"Okay, so until your sister and friends get to us, we'll need to be able to protect ourselves since you know...Angels, Fallen Angels, and Devils exist." I started. I was in control of Chloe's body but I didn't understand how anything works. Not her skills, her moves, nor her magic.

"You want to learn how to fight?" She asked with some surprise.

"I want to learn how to fight like **you**. We can start by how you use Magic." I said with a nod.

"Magecraft." She suddenly cut in.

"Rin and Luvia call it Magecraft." I nodded at her clarification.

"Right, Magecraft. How do?" The complicated expression she gave did not fill me with confidence.

"That might be a bit of an issue. You see, my Magic isn't really mine." Chloe proceeded to explain how her Projection Magic actually came from the card that was lodged inside her.

"So what? Are you some sort of Spirit?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"Yes? It's confusing. I'm actually part Illya, part Heroic Spirit, and part Magic. The Class Card inside me is what anchors me to the physical world." Yeah, Chloe's existence was pretty weird overall.

"And I would hazard a guess that you need a supply of Magic in order to live." She nodded in confirmation. I didn't know if her body can generate magic or if there was any way to get a steady supply without using Kiss Demon on people. Something to inquire about to Serafall later.

"Okay, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. What can you tell me about your magic?" I steered the conversation back on topic.

"Like I said, it's not my own. I'm sort of just copying what Miyu's Brother can do. Even then, when he sat me down to explain how it worked, he said that he was just copying someone else too." That pretty much lined up with what I knew about Miyuverse Shirou.

"A Fake of a Fake huh?" I commented. Chloe actually started twiddling her thumbs and looked away. I seemed to have struck a nerve.

"That's fine." I added, patting her on the head.

"No one ever said that a Fake can't beat the Original." I said, borrowing the line of a more popular version of Shirou Emiya.

"There are countless examples of how Fakes are outright inferior to Originals." Chloe shot back while swatting my hand away.

"Chloe, don't ruin the moment." I deadpanned and got an eye roll in return.

"Back on topic. How do I fake the fake that you are faking?" Chloe hummed at my question while she gathered her thoughts.

"Well, the way he explained it to me is that I needed to bring forth the image of what I want to make in my mind. If I can imagine it, I can make it real. Easiest with a sword or a bow anyway." She explained. Swords and bows. No Rho Aias? Wait...

"What about arrows?" I asked in honest confusion. She raised a brow at me and shrugged.

"Don't need them. That's what the swords are for." Of course.

"Right. Still, that's very generalized." I commented.

"It works. He also had me try it the way he does it specifically, but it really doesn't work out. Keeping track of eight steps in order in the span of a breath is way beyond me." Ah yes, the very famous eight steps of Projection Magic.

Judging the concept of creation

Hypothesizing the basic structure

Duplicating the composition material

Imitating the skill of its making

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth

Reproducing the accumulated years

Excelling every manufacturing process

Yeah, no. I wouldn't be able to do that either.

Shirou Emiya's way of faking things is akin to an artist doing Art Forgery. It's as close as it can possibly get to the original, made with care and understanding of the actual product.

Chloe's way on the other hand is like a worker in an automated Assembly Plant. She knows that she gets the intended result if she does what she was supposed to do, but she doesn't really understand how it is actually made.

"You can try it when you're back in my body and see what you get. Worst case, you can ask that Devil for help." Chloe added with a shrug.

"Sounds like a plan." I nodded in agreement. Chloe suddenly perked up and clapped her hands.

"Oh! One more thing!" She called out.

"Miyu's brother also said that I might need a trigger phrase to get the process started. Some sort of self-hypnotization mumbo jumbo to get me in the right state of mind." I tilted my head. Yeah, Shirou did use the words Trace On for Projection.

"What, like a magic word?" I pointed out. What would I even be able to use?

"I guess? I've never needed it personally, but you can keep that in mind if you have difficulty." Chloe's voice suddenly became distant and my vision suddenly went white.

* * *

I opened my eyes to the sight of a-why couldn't I feel Chloe's outfit anymore?!

I lifted the blanket covering me and verified my state of undress. Right. Chloe's Servant outfit was made of magic too. It must have dismissed itself when I voluntarily went to sleep instead of getting knocked out. I also suddenly realized three particular problems.

One, I needed to go to the bathroom.

Two, I didn't know where the bathroom was.

Three, I am a naked little girl.

Well, if Chloe was right about how her magic works, I should be able to deal with number three. I closed my eyes and envisioned her servant outfit.

Actually, scratch that. I had a **better **idea.

A similar but markedly different outfit formed in my mind. The outfit of the true origin of Chloe's design.

From an old and probably forgotten piece of fanmade work called Sword Dancers.

Black long-sleeved undershirt.

The same red coat that EMIYA has but with a light shade and not torn up like Chloe's.

Matching black trousers and steel toed boots minus all the belts.

Archerko's original design minus the Rin-esque short skirt and leggings. I liked wearing pants thank you very much!

Image completed, I opened my eyes.

I was still naked.

"Dammit..." I muttered to myself. Well, she did say to try a magic phrase. I had a feeling that Trace On was an Shirou Emiya exclusive so I had to use something...else.

Well, since I'm to be a Magical Girl, I might as well borrow from another Magical Girl. What better than to imitate the dulcet tone of Kevin J England, the original voice of Bardiche. The faithful partner of Fate Testarossa.

I closed my eyes, got the image back, and took a deep breath.

"Get Set."

I smiled as I felt magic.


	4. Step 4

Finding the bathroom was surprisingly easy. I managed to flag down a very maid-looking maid named Melanie and she helpfully directed me to the nearest one.

Less easy was actually doing my business in the bathroom. Details aside, it was definitely something that I would have to get used to until I get my body back. Didn't make it any less weird.

"Did you wash your hands?" Serafall asked when I opened the door to my room. She was sitting at the end of my bed with a teasing smile on her face. Judging from her green blouse and black skirt, it seemed that even the great Levia-tan had an Off Button.

"Yes, I'm not a toddler. How did you know I went to the bathroom?" I asked back.

"One of the servants told me on my way here." She answered as she looked me up and down.

"So...new look?" She gestured at my current attire.

"My default costume sends signals that I don't personally agree with." Because it was true.

Chloe's Prisma outfit would have been more in line with what was standard for women in this setting after about six or more years, especially if she'll be taking after Irisviel's body type as she grew up.

At present though? FBI, Open Up.

"If by signals you mean either 'homeless' or 'lewd', then you made the right call. This actually makes you look a bit older if not for your height." She commented.

"You're not offended that it's not girly enough?" I asked while doing a little spin in front of her. Honestly, my current clothes would fit better in a more action oriented series rather than an orthodox Magical Girl one. Though I needed a lot more practice before I start doing Smokin' Sexy Style.

"Not all Heroes wear capes, not all Magical Girls wear pink. Now come, breakfast should be ready." Serafall explained while standing up. That was pretty open minded coming from the pinkest person I had ever personally seen, especially considering her stance on Post-Madoka Type Magical Girls.

We were served a light English breakfast by a small army of maids. I had originally thought that it wouldn't be enough before remembering that my current body was much smaller than I was used to. There was also the whole 'I need Magical Energy to function and exist' topic I needed to broach. I certainly hoped that food and sleep would mitigate that issue for the time being, like Saber in the Fate Route.

"So, what are your plans?" Serafall suddenly asked as she finished her meal.

"Plans?" I said slowly, internally recalling the plan Chloe and I came up with.

"Well, you are obviously not native here. Do you plan on going back home or are you planning on integrating yourself in this world instead? I can certainly help you out if it's the latter." Oh, that. Well, based on what Chloe said…

"I have a good feeling that my friends back home are working on it." I answered. Serafall raised an eyebrow and smiled at my words.

I very much did not like how she was looking at me.

"Oh? I thought you said you're new to being a Magical Girl. Yet you now say that you have friends that would be able to traverse through dimensions?" Serafall asked the question in a teasing tone but I couldn't help but gulp when she spoke.

Me and my stupid mouth!

"Yet you weren't lying when you told me that." She mused as she idly sipped from her glass of Orange Juice. I was frozen, not even bothering to wonder why she just knows that I wasn't lying. Serafall stared at me for a few more seconds while finishing her drink. She daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood up, the action making me flinch in reflex.

"Well, that's fine. A girl has to have her secrets." She lightly said as she circled the table and stood behind my chair. She placed both her hands on my shoulders and leaned in close next to my ear.

My spine tingled and I sucked in a breath.

"Though I would eventually like an explanation for why you don't seem to be completely human. Maybe it has something to do with how you act and speak like someone older than you should be? For all I know, you're just some weird man parading as a little girl like some of those trashy light novels." She whispered, making me very much afraid that I had already been made.

"But that would be silly." Serafall suddenly tacked on. She pulled away and stepped back into view.

"I have things I will need to do for most of the day. Boring official Satan stuff." She started as red light started to come out from the floor she was standing on.

"Okay...?" Was all I could say as I saw some weird magical looking sigil at her feet.

"I suggest you stay here for now. I've assigned you that one maid you talked to earlier. I instructed Melanie to see to whatever needs you might have until I return. Do try not to make too much of a mess. See you later!" And in a flash of red, Serafall Leviathan left me alone at the dining table.

It took me a few seconds to realize that I hadn't been breathing.

"Oh my! Are you alright Miss Chloe?" I turned to the voice and saw the maid, Melanie, approaching me worriedly.

"I'm okay." I managed to say between heavy breaths.

"If you're sure..." She said, unconvinced. The other maids started to flow in and tidying up while Melanie just stood quietly off to my side. She was short, almost as short as I was. She had long black hair that was done up into twintails. Her dark eyes were behind a pair of smart looking glasses. She certainly fit the look of a proper maid with her dark blue uniform and frilly headband.

"Is there anything I can help you with Lady Einzbern?" She asked when she noticed me looking her up and down. Dammit Ric, stop checking out the cute maid!

"Actually, is there anywhere I can practice my magic?" I shifted gears into something more constructive.

"We have space for that in the library. Would you like me to escort you there?" Melanie offered. I thought about it for a bit before shaking my head.

"My magic is more on the combative side. I wouldn't want to ruin any books by accident." I had no idea how Chloe's magic would behave once I actually started trying to use it. Messing up my host's library definitely wasn't something I wanted to do. Oddly enough, Melanie's eyes lit up and clapped her hands.

"Don't worry! The practice area in the library is protected by a very powerful barrier. It's actually where Lady Leviathan usually practices her Magical Girl hobby!" The maid happily explained. It was actually a pleasant surprise how supportive she seemed of the whole Levia-tan thing and I started to wonder if no one really minded having one of the strongest Devils in the Underworld parading around as a children's mascot.

"Huh, lead the way then." Melanie bowed before leading out of the dining room and into one of the hallways. Time to see if I could do anything with Chloe's magic aside from making clothes.

* * *

I was led to the biggest library I had ever seen, one that somehow looked like it was several stories tall from the inside. Following Melanie through the labyrinth, we ended up in a large circular area that actually reminded me of the reading room inside the Library of Congress. Instead of having desks and chairs for people to read the books of the library, there were seven man-sized obelisks of varying colors that were covered in writing I couldn't read. It kind of looked like Hebrew but I wouldn't bet money on it.

"Please step forward and I will activate the protective barrier. You may then proceed to perform whatever magic you wish." My escort instructed as she walked a bit to the side where a stone podium was facing the circle.

"Are you sure this won't just suck my soul out the moment you turn it on?" I half-joked, prompting a surprised gasp from the maid.

"Oh goodness no! This circle is purely for testing purposes." She quickly explained. I got a bit of a laugh from her reaction while I made my way into the testing area. I supposed that even Devils shouldn't be subject to stereotyping.

"That particular one is in a different mansion, though it hasn't seen use in over two hundred years now." I froze when she said that and slowly turned to face her. The way that Melanie was barely keeping herself from laughing out loud was enough to break all the tension in my body.

"Very funny." I deadpanned. Melanie ended up giggling for a moment before recomposing herself.

"I apologize, but I couldn't resist. In all seriousness, I swear on my very soul that you will not be harmed." She reassured me with a more polite smile. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Okay then, I'll trust you on this." I finally said with a nod.

"Please do." Melanie responded as she placed her hands on the podium. The obelisks all lit up with the colors of the rainbow and formed a dome of light over the area I was standing on.

"And we're all set! Please feel free to begin whenever you want. I'll be here if you need anything." I nodded to her, the words sounding clear despite the translucent field between us. Well, before I started experimenting, I might as well go over what I already knew...or at least, what Chloe's body should already know.

I closed my eyes, opened my hands, and imagined a pair of swords.

"Get set." I felt my skin tingle as magic crackled across my arms like lightning until a flash of light from each of my hands formed the iconic married swords forged by Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.

I opened my eyes and inspected each sword. They didn't seem to be flawed by my amateur standards. Forming them was as easy as just thinking about it but I wasn't as arrogant as to see myself already equal to the people I was aping. Kanshou and Bakuya were the bread and butter Projections of Archer, Shirou, and Chloe so I wasn't surprised that I had an easy time making them myself. I blinked and smiled despite myself. Well, I always did want to know what I would be like.

I raised my right hand and threw the white sword. Bakuya spun as it flew at an arc before coming back to me like a boomerang. More impressive to myself was how I just snatched it out of the air with no effort. I didn't even think about how I was supposed to catch it. I spared a glance at Melanie and saw that she was absolutely unfazed by my feat. I supposed that it probably wasn't the most impressive thing to a Devil. Was she a Devil? Would it be rude to ask?

I shook my head of those thoughts. Focus. Magic first.

Well, since I already had them on hand…

"AAARGH!" I yelled out in pain as the swords in my hand suddenly blew up into shrapnel.

"Are you alright Lady Einzbern?!" I heard Melanie yell out from outside the barrier. I looked at my shaking hands and was thankful that I wasn't injured. I tried to Overedge Kanshou and Bakuya and they ended up exploding instead of changing shape. Never even had time to try to understand what I did wrong. I was just lucky that they exploded forward and not in all directions.

"Lady Einzbern!" I turned to the very worried looking maid and gave her a thumbs up.

"Sorry 'bout that. Just tried to do something I wasn't ready for. I'm not hurt." I explained with a sheepish smile. She didn't look at all convinced.

"Are you sure?" She asked again, looking ready to drop the barrier and inspect me for injuries herself.

"I'm fine. Thanks for the concern." I repeated and got a hesitant nod back. Right. Try not to make exploding swords.

That'll come later.

Instead, I might as well try to make something that I already knew that Chloe could do.

I raised my left hand and concentrated on the image of a smaller version of a nameless black longbow. It slowly coalesced from my magic and flipped it around in my hands. That was also something I started noticing. Both the bow and the swords didn't feel all that heavy to me. I mean, they still had weight...but it didn't feel the way I thought it would.

Okay, three down.

So far so good, but I needed a Big Stick. The original Kanshou and Bakuya had hilarious Anti-Monster properties because of Mo Ye's sacrifice. Unfortunately, I don't think it ever translated into the versions that could be Projected. That meant I needed something else that can punch through a hard target. I was certainly hoping that I never had to end up in a situation that would necessitate such but I wasn't about to underestimate Emiya Luck, even if it was Third Hand.

There was one answer.

I took a few breaths before holding out both hands like I was about to grasp something with them. I then focused on the image. I grit my teeth as I felt my hands start to heat up. A formless mass of magic gathered between my hands but it refused to form into the shape I wanted. I started to doubt if I could even make it and the energy I had gathered ended up just dispersing in all directions. Damn. No Caladbolg II just yet then.

Well that was about all I wanted to test out until an errant thought passed by. Chloe said that I could make something that I can imagine well enough. So far, I had been coasting on the blueprints that Chloe got from Heroic Spirit EMIYA. But what about making something I personally knew about instead?

I closed my eyes and held out my right hand, palm up. I gathered energy and imagined the shape I wanted.

Black Hilt

Silver and Red Guard that had the symbol of a Spade, thick enough to house a deck of cards

Gold Blade with a Silver Edge

I opened my eyes and couldn't help the big smile on my face. In my hands was a replica of Kamen Rider Blade's sword, Blay Rouzer. I gave it a couple of practice swings and immediately realized something that took my smile away. I flicked a finger on the surface of the blade.

Yep. It was made of plastic.

The sword I projected was the toy version of Blay Rouzer instead of a real one. It was then that something became clearer to me. I didn't actually know what that sword was made of and how it actually works since it didn't actually exist. So there was no real way for me to be able to recreate it, even with Projection.

I guess that pretty much craps on all of those stories where Shirou or Archer manage to Project fictional swords.

With a sigh and a heavy heart, I dismiss my creation. I turned to Melanie and suddenly got hit with a sense of vertigo.

"Lady Einzbern?!" I heard the maid's voice like it was from underwater. What the hell was happening to me?

I opened my eyes and saw a very worried looking Melanie looking down at me.

"What happened?" I groaned out. I tried to sit up but suddenly felt dizzy during the attempt.

"You suddenly collapsed. It seems to be a case of Mana shortage." Melanie helpfully informed. I already used up too much? I guess Chloe didn't have a lot to begin with when we were fused together.

"Fantastic..." My tone clearly conveying how un-fantastic the situation actually was.

"Do you have any means of recovering Mana? If not, I can send for Lady Leviathan." She asked and I furrowed my eyebrows at her words.

"Serafall? Why her?" Melanie smiled at my question.

"She told me to contact her if something bad happened to you." Ah, well. What a gracious host.

"No it's fine. If it's just a lack of magical energy then I can just..." I trailed off while staring at my companion.

"Just?" She repeated in an inquisitive tone, my eyes instinctively drifted to her lips.

Oh boy...how do I explain Kiss Demon to her without making it sound like I'm kind of sex offender?


End file.
